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Faith and Reasoning
The sun stood mid-high above the horizon, it's bright and warming rays shining in through the stained glass windows, depicting the many accomplishments of the deity to whom this building was dedicated, spreading a colorful and joyous gleam across the gray walls. Around ten volunteer workers attended the Cathedral, walking around in pristine violet robes as they did their best efforts to make the place appear spotless. Most of the workers had the average tasks of cleaning the windows, swabbing the marble floor, and tending to the benches. Three very dedicated volunteers held a far greater task in their hands, however. They were to attend the tablets and pillars of the Cathedral as they were made from the most important of materials. The tablets were encrusted with a thin layer of gold, used for the carved texts, and the foundational pillars which held the entirety of the building stood thick and proud, with a core of midnight black marble and an outer layer of thin bricks of Lapis Lazuli and some silver, stacked beside each other in a pattern of Lapiz, silver, lapiz, and so forth, trailing upwards until they met the roof. Chandeliers hung from the roofs and along the walls stood great statues of men and women whom had played big parts in elevating their gods to the patron status they once held in Subaine. At the front of the church stood an altar dedicated to the Mother Moon and Father Terra, each of which had a statue made in their honor at either side beside the Altar. It was hectic work to get it all in order, and yet there were no moans of complaint. All of the workers hymned in honor of their gods and carefully tended to the magnificent building, a hymn which harmonized in a wonderful union of voices. At the altar kneeled a woman in a pristine silver and blue dress, a veil covering her face from view and a hood to shroud her hair and head, silently praying for a successful day for her visitors and her. Teresa stood outside the large building, doing her best to keep track of all of the students who had accompanied her on the field trip. Despite the only students attending being those of the advanced placement classes at Mimisbrunnr Academy, there were at least one hundred and fifty present as the group consisted of those of each grade and thus the children before her ranged from nine years old to fifteen all crowded the sidewalk. "Everyone quiet! You can continue your conversations during the lunch period but for now I need your attention." The blonde woman spoke with authority, pushing away a strand of her hair from her sweating brow. The summer heat bearing down even though it wasn't quite noon yet but all knew the Unianim was cruel and unforgiving made all the more so by the giant population of the city. She cleared her throat when she had everyone's attention, her eyes moving to make sure the other teachers had gotten into their position around the students to prevent any from wandering off or being left behind. "As you may know our visit here today is our second trip in the several planned for the year as part of our Culture and Unity program that seeks to teach all of you bright young minds more about the nations that make up our wonderful world and not just that of Ashvattha or even the Toranku. I expect all of you to treat those who would allow us here with the utmost respect as you all know that coming on these trips is a privilege that can easily be taken away and I highly doubt any of you would want to be put into a lower level class for the day while we are out here learning from experience. Now, if you would all wait here I will confirm our presence with our the person who will be giving us our tour today and then we can get off the streets." Teresa turned from the students who immediately began talking amongst themselves the moment she turned her back and headed toward the entrance to the Cathedral. She entered the building and felt somewhat relieved to be out of the searing heat as she disliked such climate and much preferred the much cooler temperatures of her homeland. She entered the nave of the cathedral, seeing the back of a woman who vaguely resembled the description of the woman she had been told would be showing them around today. She stood at the back still near the entrance as to not interrupt whatever it was the woman was doing. The woman's focus shifted ever so suddenly, her head jerking back as she felt a new presence in the halls. Gracefully, she rose up from her previous position and began to make her way down the walkway to meet with the person at the entrance. As she walked down the aisle, she dismissed the workers with a wordless handwave, all of whom immediately took off to the private chambers. Within short, the woman stood before Teresa, the blue dress hugging her figure as she courtesied. She removed her hood and veil, revealing the woman beneath, her lightly tanned skin with few to no flaws and her larger than life hair coming into view. "Welcome, traveler, you humble our abode with thy presence. I am Isis Madu, former templar, now Paladin and Priest of this cathedral of ours." She spoke, and as she rose up once more, she looked around, similarly to a confused animal. "I fear there may be a misunderstanding. I prepared for the grandest visitation I've had in a long time, yet you stand here alone." She asked with sincere concern. "Did the others not favor coming?" Teresa shook her head, "No, no. I just wanted to come in first to make sure you were ready for us. I'm sure the last thing you need is a bunch of loud children interrupting your service. The students are waiting outside." Teresa said, her clipboard held tightly against her body as she spoke, unsure what to make of the woman in front of her. The blonde woman was not one to think highly of religious practices or of those with strong faith but she was not one to speak out against others so long as she didn't believe them to be harm to anyone but even so she preferred to avoid them, surrounding herself with those she considered of an intellectual mindset. "I'm Dr.Stein, but you can call me Teresa if you would like and I am the headmaster of Mimisbrunnr Academy of Magic. The children are right this way if you would like to greet them before our tour?" She offered her hand to the priest expecting to shake hands with the woman. Isis nodded in affirmation. "I understand, that was most thoughtful of you. I hope that I can deliver a memorable day for thee today. Shall we get moving then?" Isis spoke as she began to make her way outside with Teresa beside her. The two of them exited the church and temporarily came out into the balming summer heat. She smiled over the crowd before she began to speak, taking notice of more than one young girl that admired her dress. "Welcome everyone to the home of the Mother and Father. Just like your teachers, I will teach you about the spiritual significance of four items and construction pieces within, after which you will be allowed, with your teachers' permission, to discover and brave the Cathedral on your own. I advise caution, and if you have a question either during the tour or when you discover it for yourself, feel free to ask me a question regarding it. Now then, shall we get a move and get out of this heat?" She spoke as she led the company of teachers and students into the massive church. The first stop was the pillars which held the place up, to which she stood beside it and addressed the gathering. "Might seem like an odd place to start, but our first attraction are these monumental constructions. I am sure that you're taking note of their unique materials." She spoke with a wave of her arm to gesture towards it. "Pop quiz! Before you came here today, I sent out little pamphlets regarding the basics of our faith and the importance of certain items and materials. Now, who can tell me what the significance of these pillars are? And don't worry about getting it wrong, this won't be graded nor affect your grades." She said with a smile. Most of the students remained silent, few of them would have given such a pamphlet a second look had it been found in their mail and even fewer would have likely received it given most still lived with the parents and thus the mail would be checked by them rather than the students themselves. However, that didn't keep a small, lavender-haired boy from raising his hand despite the protest of the those around him who would rather stay silent and have the answer told to them rather than prolong the experience by answering and getting it wrong. Even so, the young boy that Teresa recognized as Amir Tasya raised his hand high into the air with an enthusiasm she was somewhat happy to see in such a young person. Once the young boy was picked form the two of three hands that went up he lowered the outstretched arm and spoke up. "I admit from the beginning that I don't know if my answer is right or not but I know that in many religions pillars are used to symbolize the founding principles of said religion such as the five pillars found in Liorism, the primary religion in Ishtar." The young boy spoke with confidence despite having admitted he didn't know a single thing about the religion Isis had devoted herself to. Isis smiled approvingly. "You are partially right, young one. They do indeed represent the foundation of our faith, but there is also more to it. The bricks of Lapiz and Silver represent the Mother Moon and Father Terra, both of which vastly different but still complement each other with their differences. That is what the church was founded upon. To see the best in one another, regardless of nationality and race, regardless of them being faithful or nonbelievers, and equally important, it's to remind us of who we are and where we all go." Isis turned her attention towards Teresa. "Keep this student in mind, Ms. I have something in mind towards the end for him." She spoke, and as she said this, she turned her attention back to the students, a subtle, mischevious gleam in her eyes. "It seems that I failed to mention something. While this won't affect your grades, and as such, there is no shame in taking a backseat, but for those who walk the extra mile..." She spoke as she reached into one of the pouches which hung at her side, and pulled out an item which rattled like metal within. In her hand she now held a big and thick coin of pure silver. "There might be something in it for you," she spoke as she ventured on. She felt a bit bad about what could essentially be considered bribing, but she would consider herself an even greater failure as a priest if she couldn't keep the attention of the youth. Further into the church, the group halted beside a basket of silver coins and a pedestal of a chest and book of notes. "This is... Well, honestly just a chest with minimal meaning. It is said that the greatest and most important meanings can be found within ourselves, most importantly, cheesy as it is, in our hearts. I want you to perform a little task for me now. I want you to take a single coin out of the basket and do one of two things with it: You can either keep it for yourself for future purposes, or you can dedicate the coin and a message to someone that lies close to your heart and offer them a gift by putting them in the chest. Do what feels best and right for you. Teachers, I would like to ask your help with this one, to ensure that only one coin is taken per student." Teresa nodded, having one of the other teachers join her beside the basket and she watched each student take one. Just as she expected there was a noticeable divide right down the middle between those who took the coin and those who did not. Though, it would be impossible for her to tell why each person chose what to do with it but she imagined many who did place the coin into the chest did so for moral reasons. After all, it was what the coins were used for to begin with and with Hylion's money being credit based there would be little benefit in keeping the coin aside from having an interesting souvenir. When all the children had made their choice, they returned to their standing position in front of Isis and herself. Teresa herself saw no meaning in the act of doing either but kept silent, wondering if Isis would give more meaning to the activity in whatever she had to say next.